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Refuse to Lose
"Realistic people place roadblocks in front of themselves," says John Calipari, "I'm unrealistic in a positive way." And he gets results. As one of the hottest coaches in college basketball, John Calipari transformed the once-dispirited UMass Minutemen into a #1-ranked force to be reckoned with--taking them to the Final Four for the first time in history. Calipari did more than develop a phenomenal team. He built an outstanding program for success.
What is Calipari's winning philosophy? Develop a "Refuse to Lose" attitude. Though you play to win whatever the score, how you play the game counts. True, you will lose some games, but the way you deal with those losses is part of the attitude of refusing to lose. Calipari's Stay within the rules. Don't blame others, take responsibility yourself. Review the tape and learn from it. These are the life skills he taught his players--and they resulted in both professional and personal victory. If you love your kids, Calipari believes, they'll go through walls for you. Now you can apply these winning strategies to your own life--with your family, your co-workers, and yourself--to any endeavor in which there's a goal to achieve.
The formula works. A man driven by competition and the desire to excel, John Calipari plays to win, rather than playing not to lose. In Refuse to Lose, he insists you step out of your comfort zone. When you're comfortable, you're not doing your best. But when you raise the bar above your comfort level, you can accomplish things you never thought possible. He will show you how mistakes can be powerful learning tools and how adversity can become opportunity.
In the bestselling tradition Rick Pitino's Full Court Pressure and Pat Riley's The Winner Within, John Calipari tells an amazing story of triumph and grit that is both universal and unique. Powerful, optimistic, and spirited, Refuse to Lose offers a dynamic philosophy that is contagious. Catch it and win!
What is Calipari's winning philosophy? Develop a "Refuse to Lose" attitude. Though you play to win whatever the score, how you play the game counts. True, you will lose some games, but the way you deal with those losses is part of the attitude of refusing to lose. Calipari's Stay within the rules. Don't blame others, take responsibility yourself. Review the tape and learn from it. These are the life skills he taught his players--and they resulted in both professional and personal victory. If you love your kids, Calipari believes, they'll go through walls for you. Now you can apply these winning strategies to your own life--with your family, your co-workers, and yourself--to any endeavor in which there's a goal to achieve.
The formula works. A man driven by competition and the desire to excel, John Calipari plays to win, rather than playing not to lose. In Refuse to Lose, he insists you step out of your comfort zone. When you're comfortable, you're not doing your best. But when you raise the bar above your comfort level, you can accomplish things you never thought possible. He will show you how mistakes can be powerful learning tools and how adversity can become opportunity.
In the bestselling tradition Rick Pitino's Full Court Pressure and Pat Riley's The Winner Within, John Calipari tells an amazing story of triumph and grit that is both universal and unique. Powerful, optimistic, and spirited, Refuse to Lose offers a dynamic philosophy that is contagious. Catch it and win!
- GenresBasketball
285 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 1996
7 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
John Calipari
14 books14 followersJohn Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since April 2009, he has been the men's head coach at Kentucky. He was the head coach of the Dominican Republic national team in 2011 and 2012.
Calipari is the former head coach of the University of Memphis Tigers, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, and the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets. Calipari has officially been to 3 Final Fours, all three with Kentucky (2011, 2012, 2014). He had previously led UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008 to the Final Four, but those appearances were later vacated. Consequently, Calipari is the only head coach to have Final Four appearances vacated at more than one school, although Calipari himself was not personally implicated by the NCAA in either case. As a college coach, Calipari has 20 (19 officially) 20-win seasons, 8 (7 officially) 30-win seasons, and has been named National Coach of the Year 3 times. Calipari is widely regarded as one of the best recruiters in college basketball history.
In the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Calipari led Kentucky to its 8th NCAA Tournament Championship, and the first of his career.
From 1982 to 1985, Calipari was an assistant at the University of Kansas under Ted Owens and Larry Brown. From 1985 to 1988, he was an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh under Paul Evans. From 1988 to 1996, he was head coach at the University of Massachusetts. From 1996 to 1999, he was head coach and Executive VP of basketball operations for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. During the 1999–2000 season, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under coach Larry Brown, before moving on to his next position at the University of Memphis. He was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
In his 21 official seasons (22 seasons overall, 21 official, with one entire season later being vacated) as a collegiate head coach, Calipari's record is 548–171 (.762). His record in the month of March is 98–37 (.726). His record in the NCAA tournament is 38–13 (.745), and in the NIT is 15–6 (.714). His teams have made 14 NCAA tournament appearances (12 official, due to 2 later being vacated), including reaching the Sweet Sixteen 11 times (9 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Elite Eight 9 times (7 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Final Four 4 times (2 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the NCAA Championship Game twice (once officially, with the 2008 Championship Game appearance while at Memphis being vacated by the NCAA), winning the NCAA Championship at Kentucky in 2012.
As a college coach, Calipari has 19 20-win seasons (18 official) and 8 30-win seasons (7 official). He has also coached 6 teams to the NIT, winning the NIT Championship at Memphis in 2002. He is one of only four coaches in NCAA Division I history to direct three different schools to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Calipari is the former head coach of the University of Memphis Tigers, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen, and the National Basketball Association's New Jersey Nets. Calipari has officially been to 3 Final Fours, all three with Kentucky (2011, 2012, 2014). He had previously led UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008 to the Final Four, but those appearances were later vacated. Consequently, Calipari is the only head coach to have Final Four appearances vacated at more than one school, although Calipari himself was not personally implicated by the NCAA in either case. As a college coach, Calipari has 20 (19 officially) 20-win seasons, 8 (7 officially) 30-win seasons, and has been named National Coach of the Year 3 times. Calipari is widely regarded as one of the best recruiters in college basketball history.
In the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Calipari led Kentucky to its 8th NCAA Tournament Championship, and the first of his career.
From 1982 to 1985, Calipari was an assistant at the University of Kansas under Ted Owens and Larry Brown. From 1985 to 1988, he was an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh under Paul Evans. From 1988 to 1996, he was head coach at the University of Massachusetts. From 1996 to 1999, he was head coach and Executive VP of basketball operations for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. During the 1999–2000 season, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under coach Larry Brown, before moving on to his next position at the University of Memphis. He was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
In his 21 official seasons (22 seasons overall, 21 official, with one entire season later being vacated) as a collegiate head coach, Calipari's record is 548–171 (.762). His record in the month of March is 98–37 (.726). His record in the NCAA tournament is 38–13 (.745), and in the NIT is 15–6 (.714). His teams have made 14 NCAA tournament appearances (12 official, due to 2 later being vacated), including reaching the Sweet Sixteen 11 times (9 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Elite Eight 9 times (7 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the Final Four 4 times (2 official, due to 2 later being vacated), the NCAA Championship Game twice (once officially, with the 2008 Championship Game appearance while at Memphis being vacated by the NCAA), winning the NCAA Championship at Kentucky in 2012.
As a college coach, Calipari has 19 20-win seasons (18 official) and 8 30-win seasons (7 official). He has also coached 6 teams to the NIT, winning the NIT Championship at Memphis in 2002. He is one of only four coaches in NCAA Division I history to direct three different schools to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 23, 2008
This is a book written by future Hall of Fame basketball coach John Calipari. It goes through all his beliefs and what he has learned as a coach. Very inspiring and a must read for coaches of any sport.
January 23, 2016
I only liked it because it was about UMass basketball.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews